The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of apple tree, botanically known as Malus domestica, of the Family Rosaceae, and hereinafter referred to by the variety name ‘ZARI’.
The new Malus variety is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventors, Johan Nicolai, Paul Van Laer, Johan Keulemans, Hendrik Eyssen, Els Pauwels and Inge De Wit. The objective of the breeding program was to develop a new Malus variety which produced fruit with a crisp and juicy pulp, as well as, good storage capacity and shelf life.
The new Malus variety ‘ZARI’ originated from a cross made in a planned, controlled breeding program in Rillaar, Belgium in 1988. The female or seed parent is the Malus domestica variety ‘ELSTAR’ (patented, U.S. Plant Pat. No. PP6,450 and Plant Breeder's Rights Nos.: BE 90002, DE APF 00007, FR 10412, GB 900030 and NL APP0060). The male or pollen parent is the Malus domestica variety ‘DELCORF’ (patented, Plant Breeder's Rights No. FR. 112364).
The new seedling variety ‘ZARI’ was first fruited and selected for propagation and further testing by the inventors in 1994 in a controlled environment in Fernelmont (Franc-Waret), Belgium. Asexual reproduction of the new variety by grafting onto M9 rootstocks, was first performed in the winter of 1994-1995 in Gorsem, Belgium. Additional selection and asexual reproduction by the inventors occurred in 1999 and 2004 in Rillaar, Belgium. Asexual reproduction of ‘ZARI’ has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new variety are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new variety reproduces true to type.